Courts. (Credit: LevittownNow.com)
An Abington neighborhood was shaken last fall after a local woman was followed home from Parx Casino and violently targeted in a home invasion. Now, both men responsible are behind bars.
Ek Franklin Davis, 51, of Trenton, N.J., was sentenced to 4 to 15 years in a state prison by a Montgomery County judge after pleading guilty to robbery and burglary, according to a report.
The charges stem from a Sept. 23, 2024, incident on the 1800 block of Horace Avenue in Abington Township. Abington police and prosecutors called the crime a “crime of opportunity.”
According to prosecutors, Davis had been lurking on the floor of Parx Casino in Bensalem, where he deliberately targeted the woman after she won several thousand dollars. Surveillance footage showed Davis closely trailing the victim through the casino, following her out into the parking lot, and then tailing her back to her Abington home in a black Chevrolet Impala.
Once the woman arrived home just before 1 a.m., Davis remained outside as the lookout and getaway driver. His accomplice, 27-year-old Khabir Shepard of Newark, N.J., forced his way inside, brandishing a loaded handgun. As the victim screamed for help, her adult son sprang into action from an upstairs bedroom, armed with his legally owned firearm.
In the confrontation, the son shot Shepard twice to protect his mother. Shepard stumbled outside and collapsed on the front lawn, where the son held him at gunpoint until Abington Police arrived. The firearm used by Shepard, a loaded .45-caliber handgun, was recovered at the scene. Authorities later confirmed Shepard was prohibited from owning a firearm due to a prior criminal record.
Surveillance and witness statements later connected Davis to the getaway vehicle and to tailing the victim from the casino.
Initially, Davis rejected a plea deal, but changed course days later, choosing to accept responsibility. His co-conspirator, Shepard, was sentenced earlier this month to 10 to 20 years in state prison.
